Did you miss me? Please say yes because I have a strong need for validation and love. Last week was Spring Break so our family went on a vacation to New Orleans, Louisiana. The trip didn't disappoint and not just because it was 40 degrees warmer down there. (Come on Iowa. Snow in mid-March? Really?)

Anyway, our family is always insane when it comes to doing and seeing everything we can, so instead of writing your eyes out (which I'm assuming is the reading equivalent of talking your ears off) I'm going to showcase a snippet of our trip: the bayou.

We went about forty minutes outside of New Orleans to the Honey Island swamp for this totally awesome experience. Before I start, though, I want to show you this bridge right near our boat launch. When Hurricane Katrina hit on 2005, guess how high the water level got.

All the way up to that cute little station house. I'm guessing that's at least thirty feet up. Needless to say, we saw quite a few new homes that had been raised up on stilts. Here's one we saw right on the river:

P.S. It's still a bit lower than that station house.

Anyway, let's get to the tour. We saw a ton of alligators like this one here:

I'm sorry if it's a little blurry. I had to really use the zoom on my camera to get this shot.

YIKES!!

I didn't have to use the zoom on this one, though I admit, for a moment, I had the urge to wet my pants. I will say no more.

We also saw a mama boar with two little piglets -- or are they boarlets? I refuse. That sounds weird.) We fed them marshmallows. (We fed the alligators, too.) Here's a shot of the mama going after one. So fun to watch.

We also saw turtles,herons, snakes and some beautiful flowers. Did you know the fleur-de-lis, the official symbol of Louisiana, is based off a stylized iris lily? They grow wild in the swamp. Don't believe me? Take a peek.

Told you!

Still, the coolest thing we saw had to be the merman. You heard me. I said, merman!

Oh, come on now. It's me. You KNEW I'd have to throw something goofy in here. Like this coffee I found in a store:

The blocked out word is "HECK." Promise.

And the most adorable voodoo dolls. There are a ton of these things. I predict they'll be the next craze.

Now, of course, not all voodoo dolls are cute. Here's one that looked so lonely and pathetic, I had to buy him. His name is Stan.

Seriously, he looks so horrifically shocked and dismayed by life. I felt he needed a good home.

But I'll stop now. Just let it be known that we had a fabulous time during our entire trip. And now I'm back and it sucks. This snow has REALLY overstayed its welcome.

Weird Author

My name's Murphy, Janene Murphy, and I'm a weird mom.

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